Recognizing Migraine Symptoms at an Event

Key to Celeste’s experience is her ability to recognize when a migraine attack is beginning. In the first phase of a migraine attack, called the prodrome phase, symptoms can occur between two and 48 hours before the headache begins.^1,2 Celeste’s prodrome symptoms include neck and shoulder tightness, dizziness, light sensitivity, and blurry vision. But a wide variety of other early migraine symptoms can occur in the prodrome phase, including:

• Fatigue¹
• Mood changes¹
• Yawning¹
• Food cravings³
• Nausea¹

For people who can work with their doctors to identify symptoms like these in the prodrome phase, it’s possible to treat migraine before the head pain begins.^{2,4​​​​​}

Celeste says that when she identifies early migraine symptoms while at an event like a party, she tells people around her that she feels symptoms starting and may need to go home to rest and take medication. If she takes this action, Celeste can sometimes rejoin the party later when she feels better and is once again able to enjoy the activity.

Planning To Attend Special Events With Migraine

Celeste spoke not only about how she addresses migraine attacks during an event but also her strategy for planning to attend special events, given that she might experience migraine symptoms.

When planning to travel to an event that’s far from home, Celeste plans to bring along a support person and always carries her migraine medication in her purse. Her support person can take the wheel if Celeste feels unable to drive because of her migraine symptoms.

Celeste also lets the host know ahead of time that if she experiences migraine symptoms during the event, she may need to go back to her hotel room until the migraine attack is over. If Celestes explains this possibility beforehand, she says, the host tends to be more understanding and doesn’t take it personally if she needs to leave abruptly. In these scenarios, “most people are pretty understanding about migraine,” Celeste says.

Finally, when traveling far for an event, Celeste plans extra time for the hotel stay in case she needs to rest. Taking her time and not rushing when traveling is an essential part of her strategy for enjoying celebrations while living with migraine.

Talk With Your Doctor

If Celeste’s experiences with migraine symptoms at inconvenient times, like during parties, remind you of your own, it may be time to talk with your doctor about the prodrome phase of migraine and how it might help you predict when a migraine headache is about to happen.⁴ Your doctor can help you put together an action plan for the next time you notice a change that could be connected to migraine. It’s possible that, in certain circumstances, early treatment could help you — like Celeste — avoid some migraine headaches that spring up at inconvenient times.⁴ Speaking with your doctor could be the first step toward getting you back to the party.

More Videos

Watch Celeste talk about some of the early migraine symptoms she experiences and how they can be warning signs that a migraine headache is on the way.	Watch Celeste talk about how she made the connection between pre-headache symptoms of migraine and early migraine treatment through her migraine action plan.